'Bangladesh, Pakistan and India should be treated equally,' former England star lashes out at ICC

LONDON: Only a few hours are left for the start of the T20 World Cup. Meanwhile, former England captain and commentator Nasser Hussain has come forward strongly criticising the International Cricket Council (ICC) over the action against Bangladesh in connection with the World Cup.

Nasser Hussain said the ICC should treat all teams equally and follow a consistent approach. He questioned whether the ICC would have expelled India if India had made a similar demand as Bangladesh. He made these comments during a cricket discussion show with Michael Atherton.

The issue began when Bangladesh's Mustafizur Rahman, who plays for Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL, was dropped from the squad following instructions from the BCCI. Following this, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) expressed security concerns and requested that matches planned in India be shifted to Sri Lanka. The ICC rejected this request. In response, Bangladesh threatened to boycott the T20 World Cup. Following this, the ICC removed Bangladesh from the tournament. Scotland, a lower-ranked team that had not qualified, was included in their place.

Pakistan supported Bangladesh and announced that they would not play their match against India. This could cause huge financial losses for the ICC. The ICC has warned Pakistan that they will face legal and financial consequences if they do not participate in the match.

Nasser Hussain has expressed support for both Bangladesh and Pakistan. He said, “If the Indian government says one month before the tournament that they will not allow their team to play in a certain country, how will the ICC react? Will they say they will expel India? Bangladesh, Pakistan, and India should be treated the same way. What everyone wants is consistency.”

He also mocked Indian fans, saying they might respond by saying, “Cry louder… we have the money.”

Meanwhile, Indian fans have strongly responded to Hussain on social media. They reminded him that 23 years ago, England boycotted their World Cup match against Zimbabwe in protest against Robert Mugabe. At that time, Nasser Hussain was the captain of the England team.